The sport of rock climbing is becoming ever more popular as a means of recreation. In order to develop the necessary skills to participate in this sport, many individuals practice on a simulation device which typically includes a climbing wall containing a plurality of man made climbing holds fastened thereto. Climbing of these man made walls has also become a sport of its own, with walls being designed to accommodate the various skill levels of climbers.
Climbing holds are grabbed and stepped by a climber in order to ascend up the wall. Its important for the holds to be rigidly secured to the climbing wall in order to prevent the hold from moving under the weight of a climber. Climbing holds come in a variety of configurations in order to simulate various naturally occurring rock formations. Such holds are typically formed of synthetic material such as a polyester resin which allows the holds to take on the appearance and texture of natural rock.
Prior art climbing holds present significant problems when attempting to properly secure them to a climbing wall. Climbing holds typically have an aperture extending therethrough in order to permit a bolt to extend and threadably engage the climbing wall. The bolt is tightened to secure the climbing hold to the wall and prevent the hold from either translational or rotational movement. In order to ensure that the hold does not rotate, a bolt must be tightened to a certain degree such that the hold is urged against the wall and prevented from rotating by the frictional force existing between the planar mounting face of the hold and the opposing portion of the climbing wall. However, in attempting to prevent the climbing hold from moving, the bolt may be over tightened resulting in the molded body of the climbing hold to fracture. The head of the bolt upon engaging the upper body portion of the climbing hold creates an area of high stress concentration adjacent to the bolt head making the hold susceptible to cracking about this area. Accordingly, a narrow acceptable range of torque results in order to ensure that the climbing hold is properly secured but not damaged. Fracture of the hold may lead to the hold falling from the wall upon being stressed by the weight of a climber. Since a climber may place all of their weight on a particular hold, its breaking may result in a fall which could injure the climber.
The present invention overcomes the problems associated with the prior art climbing holds by providing a device for reinforcing the climbing hold such that the bolt may be tightened without resulting in damage to the climbing hold. The present invention further includes a method of attaching a climbing hold to a climbing wall so that the hold may be securely fastened to the climbing wall without fracturing.